PARKLAND - Facing a 16-point deficit with four minutes remaining against the No. 8-ranked team in the country on Friday, Pacific Lutheran rallied to within four points in the waning seconds before dropping a 57-51 Northwest Conference women's basketball decision to the Lewis & Clark Pioneers.

Lewis & Clark, which is ranked eighth in the Division III national coaches poll and 10th in the D3hoops.com Top 25, improved to 13-1 overall and to 4-1 in the conference, while PLU suffered its seventh straight loss to fall to 4-11 overall and 1-4 in the NWC.

The visiting Pioneers seemed to have things well in hand at 53-37 when Kristina Williams, the reigning NWC Player of the Year, converted a three-point play with 3:53 left in the contest. PLU, however, put on a furious rally in the closing minutes to create at least a little anxiety on the visitors' bench.

Andi Adams, a frosh guard from Marysville, led the charge. She hit a pair of free throws, stole the ball and converted a layup, and then rebounded her own missed three-point shot and scored a layin to make it a 53-45 game with 1:42 remaining.

Lewis & Clark regained a 10-point lead on a jumper by Sara Villanueva, but Samantha Potter hit a pair of free throws and then made a layin with 30 seconds left to pull the Lutes to within six points at 55-49. After Williams missed the front end of a bonus free throw, Adams hit a jumper with 13 second on the clock to cut PLU's deficit to 55-51.

Villanueva finally put an end to the rally, however, knocking down two free throws with seven seconds remaining.

Lewis & Clark scored the game's first points on a layup by Margaret Dowling, and then PLU took its only lead of the game on a three-point basket by Shelly Kilcup 1 1/2 minutes into the contest. Williams hit a pair of charity tosses at the 16:06 mark to put L&C on top, 4-3, and it would never again trail.

Potter led the Lutes with 19 points and eight rebounds, and Adams had her top scoring performance by far with 15 points, including 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. PLU shot 37 percent (19-for-51) for the game and also lost the rebound battle, 39-33.

Like Potter, Williams led her team in both scoring with 16 and rebounding with eight. Villanueva had 14 points in the winning cause. Lewis & Clark shot 39 percent (22-for-57) from the field for the game.

PLU is back in action at 6 p.m. next Friday when it faces third-ranked and unbeaten George Fox in Newberg, Ore.

- PLU -